My Blind Spot
by fuzzzy22
Summary: When Team Gai gets assigned a new, dangerous mission, Gai and Lee don't seem as excited as they always do. On top of that, Neji has to figure out why he has been feeling such strange mixed feelings when he's around Tenten. Rated T for language. Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**My Blind spot.**

**A/N~ Hey guys! AliceOtaku here. Just wanted to drop something that I've been intending to write for a while. I know I'm not finished with my other story, but I'll be writing both at the same time O_O Don't get too worked up. I'll figure it out, and we'll all be happy in the end. Alright. Well, now that that's cleared up (hopefully...) let's get on with the Story! Btw, this fanfic takes place 3 years after Shippuden. Sasuke's back, and.. Tsunade is the Hokage. ok. You should be good with that info. :D bahahaha. **

* * *

**Neji's POV.**

Clink. Dodge. Clink. Dodge. Clink. Dodge. Clink, clink. Dodge, dodge.

Tenten wiped some sweat from her brow. She was panting. "Alright. I think that was a pretty good workout, don't you think? Let's take a little break." she said, running a hand over her bangs.

I nodded. She looked tired. Maybe she should rest a little before continuing our training.

She walked to a nearby tree, and grabbed her water bottle. She sighed, and drank.

I studied her while I picked up my own water bottle. Her clothes were the same as they had been for the past 3 years. Her hair in her usual buns. Her face slightly covered in sweat. Her chocolate brown eyes looked tired. She had bags under her eyes. Slender, yet curvy, and like always, a smile on her lips.

"Hey.. Neji?" she asked, turning to look at me.

"Hn?" I looked at her. I wiped my own sweat.

"I.. no, never mind." she turned away. And gathered her stuff.

I sighed. "What is it, Tenten?"

"It's nothing.. I forgot." she said, and turned to look at me with a grin. "You ready for the next round?"

I smirked. "Of course." I raised an eyebrow as she laughed. Her smile was so radiant.

"Right." was all she said.

* * *

We were walking to get some dinner. Tenten's arms were on her back. She was on my right. Looking at the sky. Deep in thought. My arms were crossed over my chest.

_**Oi!**_

_...What the hell? _

_**I'm talkin' to ya, buddy! **_

_..Who are you? My inner-self?_

_**Yeah. Sure. **_

_Alright then. What do you want?_

_**Nothin' really. **_

_Then leave._

_**That's no way to talk to yourself. Besides, I can't leave. I'm you.**_

_Sigh.._

"So, what do you want to eat today, Neji?" Tenten asked, not looking at the ground as she walked.

"Hn." I muttered, not really listening.

She rolled her eyes. "Yumm. Hn for dinner!" she looked away, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

I looked at her and smirked. "Sorry. Anything will be fine. I don't care." I trailed off.

She looked at me through the corner of her eye. "Right. Well then.. uh.. how about there?" she pointed to a little Akashiyaki stand.

"Sure." I said easily.

She grinned, grabbed my arm, and tugged me along.

"Good afternoon! What will it be?" an old lady with gray hair, and a tired smile asked.

"Just give us two medium servings, please." Tenten said easily. A smile on her face. The lady smiled back.

"Sure thing, kids." she said, and turned to prepare our food.

"YOSH! If it is not our youthful teammates!" Lee jumped in the scene, along with Gai-sensei.

"What beautiful power of youth. WE SHALL EAT AS WELL!" he said.

* * *

After we were done eating, we walked randomly to the forest, Gai got serious.

"Alright everyone. Lady Tsunade has a mission for us." he said quietly. Out of character for him..

"What rank?" Tenten asked casually.

"Well, originally, It was an S rank mission. But now, Lady Tsunade decided it was an A rank." he said, in the same tone.

Tenten and I exchange a look. She then looked at Gai with a puzzling look. Why was he being so serious about the subject?

"Alright. So when do we leave?" she kept her tone casual.

"In two days." he answered.

"Well, we have time to get some extra training done!" Tenten grinned, looking at me. I nodded.

"Well, we have to get going and do a little training of our own too. ONWARD WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!" Gai shouted,

"GOODBYE, YOUTHFUL TEAMMATES!" and with that, Gai and Lee were gone.

"Well, that was odd, don't you think?" Tenten asked, raising an eyebrow in the direction they had disappeared.

"Yeah. A little too odd if you ask me." I muttered.

Tenten shrugged, and then said, "Well, i'm whipped. We should go get some rest." she said, stretching her arms. I nodded once.

"Hn. I'll walk you home." I said. She nodded, and smiled.

We began to walk towards her apartment. It still made me uneasy how Gai seemed not so excited about this mission. It didn't matter if it was babysitting, or a life-or-death mission, he was always pumped. And same for Lee.. they knew something we didn't..

"So.." Tenten said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Hn?" I looked at her.

"Uhh.. I dunno.." she scratched her neck, and ran her hand on her bangs. She bit her lip and turned to look at me.

"There's something definitely up with Gai-sensei and Lee.." she looked down. "Just wish I knew what it was.." she muttered.

I sighed. "Yeah.. I was just thinking that too. It's as if they had more information than us. They know something we don't." I said, looking straight ahead.

She nodded in agreement.

We walked for a few more minutes in silence. We finally reached her apartment.

"well, I guess i'll just see you tomorrow..?" she said. She switched her bag to her right shoulder.

"Right. Well, sleep well, alright?" I said, looking at the bags under her eyes again.

"What do you mean? I always sleep like a log." She said, and yawned.

I smirked, then my face turned a little serious. I reached for her face, and stroked the bags under her eyes. She stiffened a little at my closeness, and my touch.

"Right. Sleep like a log." I smirked again when she rolled her eyes. I pulled my hand away.

"Yeah. I sleep like a log. And you should go home and sleep too. We have to train hard tomorrow." her eyes softened. She smiled.

"Yeah. Your right." I said, and looked over at the direction of the Hyuga Campground.

"I'm always right." she said with a grin. I turned to smirk at her.

"Right. Well, good night, Tenten. See you in the morning." I said, and started turned away. Before I could turn completely, she got hold of my shoulders, making me turn around to face her.

My eyes widened. Was she hugging me?

_**Yep. That's definitely a hug.**_

_...I'm aware of that._

"Good night Neji." she said, her tone was different from any tone she'd ever used. It was.. soft. She pulled away. A smile on her face. Her eyes looked happy.

I smiled back. "Good night Tenten."

* * *

**A/N~ Kaboom! The first chapter of my newest story! How'd you like that? really though. PLEASE tell me.. I'm sorry for not updating the other one sooner. With school, I hope I get the time. Alright. Well, your reviews are ALWAYS appreciated. Like I've said before, they bring joy to my life. So, pretty please, review!**

**Well, thanks folks! Hope ya like it! Until next time,**

**~AliceOtaku**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N~ Hey guys! it's me again! bahahaha. I just decided to drop the second chapter now that I have time. THANKFULLY I haven't gotten any homework! O: so let's just be glad about that, or I wouldn't even be able to update in WEEKS.. or MONTHS O_O wow.. scary thought. Anyways, well, yeah. Enjoy! :D **

**Thank you guys so much! 10 reviews on the first chapter? -eyes start watering- I LOVE YOU GUYS! anyways.. here's the chapter.**

* * *

**Neji's POV.**

Walking home, looking down. People always looking at me, like I'm the greatest super star to ever walk the earth. Such ignorance..

"Hey, look! It's Neji!"

"Neji, please, marry me!"

"Neji, you are just.. _**SOO HANDSOME!"**_

"Neji, I love you! kiss me!"

That kind of stuff just pissed me off. I've never liked fangirls.. and neither has Tenten.

"YOU PEOPLE SHOULD GET A LIFE!" and then the girls go all crazy on her, and then she would scare them away with her weapons.

"Don't test me." was the phrase she used the most, knowing full well that it scared the shit out of the girls. They all knew her as Konoha's best Kunoichi. She was even better than Sakura. Tenten's medical skills might not be as good as Haruno's, but her battling ones are impressive.

I sighed. Well, she wasn't here now, so I might as well just get on with it.

"NEJI!" one girl yelled.

"OH MY GOD. HE'S ALONE! LET'S GET HIM!" another one yelled.

There were about 50 'yeah's!' from the mob of girls. They advanced quickly.

I turned to face them with the iciest glare I could possibly pull off.

They all stopped walking.. or running.

There was an awkward silence. I was getting ticked off, and they could see that.

"NEJI! YOU ARE SO HOT WHEN YOUR MAD!" my eyes widened, and I took off running as fast as I possibly could.

"NEJI! DON'T LEAVE! WE LOOVEEE YOUU!"

"DAMMIT!" I hissed through my teeth. Running as fast as I could, with a mob of fangirls chasing me after some very intense training, isn't exactly the way I wanted to end my day..

_**Tenten would've chased them away already.**_

I suddenly stopped, and faced them. On the inside, I was terrified. There was nothing worse than fangirls.

"STOP IT!" I yelled. They all stopped. "YOU REALLY _DO_ NEED A LIFE!" I said, giving them an icy glare.

They're eyes wide, they all shut up immediately.

One girl spoke up. "BUT WE LOVE YOU, NEJI!"

I hissed. "You can't love someone you don't know." I said coldly.

"BUT WE DO KNOW YOU!" the girl said.

I narrowed my eyes. "Do you? Do you know what my favorite food is? Do you know what my favorite color is? My hobbies? My battling preferences? Do you know who I trust? DO YOU?" I said loudly.

They were quiet.

"I didn't think so." I started to turn.

"So, are you gonna tell us that you're in love with that one _ugly_ girl.. what was her name..? _Tenten_?" she asked. I turned to face them again. My glare intensified.

She raised an eyebrow.

"You call Tenten ugly.. but have you looked at yourselves?" I said, smirking and closing my eyes. I crossed my arms over my chest.

They all gasped.

"Exactly. Tenten is prettier than ALL of you put together!" I said, opening my eyes, a smirk still playing on my lips.

"how dare you! She's.. ugly! and she's not feminine at all! You can't possibly compare _us_ to _her_!" she said, disgust creeping into her voice.

"I can, and I just did. Why? Because she's better than you. She might not look it, but she _is_ feminine. I wont her you idiots insult her if you don't know what the hell your talking about." I said, very angrily. Who did they think they were?

I turned around and walked away.

* * *

After that creepy encounter with the fangirls, I got home exhausted.

"Hey, Neji! Wanna help me train?" Hanabi asked, grinning.

"Not today, Hanabi. I'm tired, and just want to sleep." I said, and walked to my room.

I opened the door, and smiled at the sight of my bed. Oh yeahh.. sleep seemed about right after the ridiculously long day I had.

_**But it was nice. You got to train with Tenten..**_

_I always train with her._

_**Exactly.**_

_You make no sense._

_**No. YOU make no sense. **_

_...Touche._

After a cold shower, and changing into my pyjamas, I laid down on my bed, and looked around my room. My bed in the middle, next to it, were two nightstands, each with a lamp. One with a book. The other one with a picture of a younger me, with my father.

My desk was in front of the window, which was next to the bathroom, which was next to the closet, which was next to my T.V. stand, which was in front of the bed. The door was close to the bed on the right.

The gray walls looked almost black in total darkness.

_**The mission still makes me uneasy..**_

_I know.. it's weird, isn't it. For Lee and Gai to be so.. not excited about this.. it was very out of character of them.._

_**Wonder what's up with them..**_

_Uhh. I dunno.. just thinking about it is giving me a headache. I need sleep._

_**Right.**_

Then my thoughts flicked to someone else..

_**Just admit it.**_

_...Admit what?_

_**-_-' sigh..**_

_..Right.._

I wondered if she was sleeping.. or perhaps just playing with her many weapons.. I hoped not. She needed to sleep as much as I did.. probably more.

_**You worry about her too much.**_

_No I don't._

_**Yeah you do.**_

_If I do, then you do too._

_**Sigh..**_

_Hn._

Might as well sleep now..

* * *

My hand balled into a fist. "I.. I can't do this." hatred creeping into my voice. I glared at the ground. "No. I'm not going." Tsunade sighed.

"I'm not giving you an option here, kid. You _are_ going to go."

Tenten put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Give him a break.." she said to the Hokage. I sighed.

she sighed too, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Lady Tsunade." Lee butted in. "Neji does not need to go. We shall take care of this mission!" he said, and Gai nodded. A smirk on his face.

"No. Neji has to go too. You guys will be needing the power of the Byakugan for this mission. Hinata can't go, as she is in a mission of her own, and Hanabi is only a Gennin." she sighed. "Neji, your the only one who can deal with this mission.. we need your abilities." she said sternly.

"Lady Tsunade.. I don't think-" Tenten started to say.

"Tenten, there's no time to lose. We can't afford to waste time right now. Neji is going, and that's an _order. _Got that?" she said forcefully.

Damn you, Tsunade.. Damn you.

_~Flashback~_

"_Alright kids. You guys, as I'm sure you are aware of, are going into a very, very dangerous mission. You leave tomorrow." Lady Tsunade said, looking down at some papers on her desk._

"_Umm.. Lady Tsunade?" Tenten asked, raising her hand a little._

"_Yeah?" _

"_If this is such a dangerous mission, why didn't you assign it as an S-rank mission?" she asked, curiosity in her eyes. She tilted her head to the right a little. She looked... cute. _

_The old woman sighed. "Let's just say I have my reasons." she muttered._

_Tenten nodded in understandment._

"_Right. Well, now to fill you in.. you guys will be delivering 4 scrolls to the Village Hidden in the Clouds." she said. I stiffened. _

_Kumogakure. The Village Hidden in the Clouds. The Land of Lightning.._

_there was NO way in hell I was gonna go _there. _No way in fucking hell. _

_I shook my head. "Lady Tsunade.. get someone else." I said, looking away._

_Tenten's eyes were on me. I could feel her stare on the back of my head. I could also tell that she wasn't liking this more than I was. I looked at the door, sizing the opportunity to run away._

_She sighed. "It's been decided. Nothing any of us can do." she said._

"_You're the Hokage. There's a hell lot you can do.." I said stubbornly through my teeth._

_She sighed. "Maybe.. but I'm not going to do anything."_

_~End of flashback~_

I sighed. Damn her. I hissed through my teeth, trying very hard to keep my cool.

"GOT IT?" she repeated, pissed now.

I just nodded. I knew that if I talked, I would lose it, and probably curse her. Sigh..

"Good. Get ready. This will _not_ be an easy mission. I hope you are aware of this, and take the right precautions."

We all nodded. Tenten looked at me, concern in her eyes.

"Alright. You are dismissed.. Except for Gai.. Stay. I need to discuss something with you." we all stood up, except for Gai. He looked calm.. strange..

We walked out, and closed the door behind us.

"So, that's why you two were being so.. strange yesterday.." Tenten muttered. Her eyes blank.

Lee's eyes widened. It was.. weird.. and creepy.

"Was it really that obvious?" he asked in disbelief.

Tenten nodded once. Her stare still blank.

I didn't say a word. Lee sensed my uncomfortableness, and said he had to go get ready to go in the morning. He then left, saying some random shit about youth.

After he was gone, Tenten and I wandered to the training grounds. She was biting her lip. A sign of her anxiousness.

I finally sighed. She frowned.

"I can't believe i'm being forced to do this.. it's ridiculous.." I mumbled.

She agreed quietly, and looked up. Pursing her lips, she took out a kunai, and began to play with it absentmindedly.

"So.. what are you planning to do?" she asked suddenly, after a minute of silence. She threw the kunai to a target board on her right. It was deadly accurate. Like always. She didn't even turn to it, and pulled out a few more kunai, and a couple of shuriken. She fingered them expertly, and then threw them with her pin point accuracy.

I sighed again. "I don't know.. I don't have a choice here.. I guess I'll just have to go.." I said, and suddenly I was angry. Angry at them.. for killing my dad, and angry at Tsunade for making me go. Did she like to torture me like that? Why?

Tenten exhaled, walked over to me, and unexpectedly, hugged me. It felt good to have her arms around my shoulders. I hugged her back. My arms around her waist.

"Listen, I know this is hard on you. Very hard. But, I'm sure she's doing this for a reason.. she wouldn't just hurt you for fun." her hold on me tightened. I nodded once. Maybe she _was_ right..

"Thanks.. Tenten." I whispered.

* * *

**A/N~ Yay! Chapter 2 has been accomplished. Not very long.. but it's got.. a little fluff at the end, ne? Hahahaah. I'm so glad you guys are responding to this so well.. I mean, 11 reviews! and it was only the first chapter! that's like.. awesome! (: you guys are the best, you know? -starts sobbing- I love you all! Don't forget to review, and I wont forget to update(;**

**Special Thanks~ to Chichi11101, for a very awesome idea I will be working on soon. Very soon.. bhahaha. O_O**

**Thanks to AS ~ fire, for all the damn support he gives me.. your so awesome.. (: **

**And because you guys all love NejiTen, go check out Chichi11101's story.. DO IT! :D **

**And no, Fire I haven't forgotten about yours. (: You guys, go read his story. It's pure awesomeness. It's not a Naruto fanfic though.. **

**Thanks to~ EVERYONE WHO READS THIS, AND REVIEWS, AND ADDS THIS TO THEIR FAVORITES, AND YEAHH.. Erm. Ahem.. sorry. I got excited.**

**Anyway. I'll shut up, let you guys finish reading this.. ridiculously long A/N, and drop in a few reviews, and get started on the other chapter.**

**OH YEAH! before I forget, I. DID. NOT. ABANDON. MY. OTHER. STORY. Alright? I'll just be working on this one more frequently.. don't get me wrong. I freaking love it.. but I mean.. I have like.. what, 11 chapters? this one needs a little bit more(:**

**anyways.. I really do need to learn how to shut up. ha. Well, until next time,**

**~AliceOtaku**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N~ Hey there everyone. Chapter 3 is here! (: well.. all I gotta say is.. enjoyy!(:**

* * *

**Neji's POV.**

"Alright. You know what your supposed to do. Don't forget it, and be careful." Lady Tsunade said, looking at the 4 of us.

I wanted so bad to just.. not go. I was scolding at the ground. Tenten put a hand on my back, in a comforting matter. I looked at her. Her eyes were on Tsunade, but she was smiling a little. She looked at me from the corner of her eye, and smiled a little wider. I smirked. Her eyes turned to Tsunade again.

"Don't worry, Lady Tsunade! We will take care of this mission! We will not fail! The power of youth lives in all of us! We shall prevail!" Lee shouted. Tenten rolled her eyes, Gai smirked, and I sighed.

"ALRIGHT TEAM! ONWARD WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!" he said, and readjusted his backpack. Tenten dropped her arm from my back. Gai and Lee got into their freak poses, and Tenten and I sighed in unison.

Tsunade and Shizune stood there, Tsunade had both, a concerned and annoyed look. Shizune was smiling a little.

We jumped into the forest, leaving the village behind us.

* * *

_**You know, Tenten's being too quiet today.**_

_Yeah I know.. it's strange._

_**Wonder why she's being so thoughtful..**_

_Hn._

Tenten narrowed her eyes.

I looked at her from the corner of my eye. She was biting her lower lip.

"Gai-sensei, how much longer until we get there?" Lee asked suddenly.

"It's a pretty long way there. About 4 more days." **(A/N~ I seriously have no idea.. ****O_O)**

"Right!"

"Neji." Gai said, looking at me.

"Hn?"

he hesitated, and then looked forward to the trail in front of us again.

"Use your Byakugan and check for-"

Clink!

Tenten threw a few more kunai and shuriken behind us.

Someone threw some of them back. Tenten's weapons countered some of them, though one got through, and cut deep into her arm. She hissed quietly, pulling the kunai out, and tossing it aside.

What? An ambush? How did I not see it coming? How did Tenten sensed them, but not me?

We all stopped, Tenten holding on to her wounded arm. Her eyebrows pulled down into a delicate frown.

"Byakugan!" I looked around, and spotted 9 chakra flow networks.

How did I not see it coming? Was I really that distracted?

"Are you alright, Tenten?" I asked, not taking my eyes away from our enemies.

"Yeah. I'm fine." she said, scanning the area for danger.

"Neji, how many?" Gai asked, getting into a defensive stance.

"9. They're very close to us. Almost as though- TENTEN LOOK OUT!" I yelled, in sudden panic, and fear for her life.

Why? We had always encountered danger, and I had never felt this horrible feeling towards the thought of losing her.

She jumped out of the way with a hiss, as soon as I told her to. 8 giant poisoned shuriken cut through the tree branch she had just been standing on.

Why are they only targeting Tenten? What is going on here?

I gritted my teeth. Then it hit me. The scrolls! Of course..

"Come out!" I yelled in sudden anger.

Tenten glanced at me for only a second, and then looked back to the trees.

"My, my. What insolence. And such impatience.." a rough, yet high voice said, from within the trees. I couldn't tell who the speaker was, but I was starting to get agitated.

We all tensed as the 9 ninja came out slowly from their hiding spots, all of them males, wearing the Hidden Stone Village headband.

Some of them looking at Tenten with suggestive eyes. That angered me. A lot.

"State your business." I spat. Gai threw a worried look in my direction. I ignored it.

"We want the scrolls you carry with you." the one in the middle said. He had been the one to speak first. He looked older than Gai. Probably in his late 40's

Tenten's eyes widened a little. Lee's eyes.. well I can't exactly say they widened.. it would impossible for them to get bigger, but you get the idea.

Gai raised a brow. I fought to keep my emotions under check. Why was it so hard to keep in control?

_**Calm down. Don't let them get the scrolls.**_

_..You think I don't know that?_

_**Alright then. Just calm down.**_

_I'm trying. You're no help._

_**Just remember what Tsunade said about the scrolls. BE CAREFUL!**_

_SHUT UP!_

_~Flashback~  
_

"_Alright everyone. The risks of this mission include, being ambushed in the middle of the delivering, losing the scrolls, and possibly, getting the scrolls opened. Now, you have to make sure this DOES NOT, and I shall repeat that, DOES NOT happen. Those things have.. immense power. If you open them lose them, or get them stolen, it would be disastrous. Even if it's an accident, the whole mission will be a failure, and you guys would die. Do you understand this?"_

_We all nodded._

"_Good. Now, Tenten," she turned to look at Tenten, who was standing next to me._

"_Yes?"_

"_You will be caring the scrolls." _

_Tenten looked a little confused, but nodded slowly._

"_Lady Tsunade.." I started. _

"_What?" she turned to look at me._

_I looked at her and crossed my arms over my chest._

"_Why Tenten?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow._

_She looked very annoyed._

"_Because I said so."_

"_Is there a specific reason for your choosing her?" I narrowed my eyes._

_Tenten looked at me, a sad frown on her face._

"_Do.. do you think I'm not capable of keeping the scrolls safe, Neji?"  
she asked me, concern and sadness thick on her voice._

_My eyes widened a little._

"_No, that's not it. I was.. I was just wondering.." I trailed off._

"_Alright, alright. Enough chit chat. You have a mission in front of you. Fulfill it. Be careful, and DON'T. OPEN. THE. SCROLLS. Got it?" Tsunade said, looking at each one of us._

"_Right! Do not worry! We will carry on this mission with perfectness!" Lee shouted._

_Tenten sighed and I rolled my eyes._

"_Alright. You are all dismissed." Tsunade said, with a wave of her hand._

_~End of flashback~_

Tenten pulled out one of her scrolls slowly from the rug sack on her back, getting ready to fight if necessary.

I got ready myself, closing my eyes, (for concentration and for my nerves' sake) getting the chakra flow to my palms. After reopening my eyes, I slipped into my fighting stance.

Gai and Lee did the same.

I searched for more danger around the forest.

There was no one but them, and us.

"Such fighting spirits... It's too bad we have to kill you." the guy said. He looked at Tenten. "Much too bad." he smiled at her. I had to stop myself from tackling him and killing him on the spot.

She made a gagging sound. I almost smiled.

He looked at me, and raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? None other than a Hyuga." he breathed, and smiled again. I narrowed my eyes.

"Those eyes of yours.. containing the all seeing Byakugan." he said, sounding amused.

"We said it once, and we'll say it again. STATE YOUR BUSINESS." I spat.

He smirked. "Well, I said it once, and I'll say it again. Hand over the scrolls." he turned to Tenten. "Now."

She didn't react in the slightest. She just stood there, waiting for the fighting to start, I would suppose.

"C'mon, sweet cheeks. Hand over the scrolls, and I'll spare your life." he smirked at her.

She didn't say anything again.

"Do it now.. I don't want to have to kill you.. but if you don't do as I say, I'll have no choice." he said, caution in his voice.

She narrowed her eyes. "Screw you." she said, loud and clear. I tried to hold back a chuckle.

His face turned grave. "You asked for it, babe." he growled.

Tenten smirked. "Bring it on, pops."

He didn't like that very much.

"Hang on, Hisao! We have to get the scrolls, and leave! We don't have time to stop and play with these kids." another one said. His hair was spiky and brown. The bottom of his face covered by a mask. His eyes were black.

Hisao sighed. "You think I don't know that, Katsuo? But we have no other choice. We have to get the scrolls. You heard Naoki's instructions." Hisao tensed. Katsuo narrowed his eyes, and then sighed.

"Yeah. Your right.." he sighed again.

"So, do we take 'em down?" another one with silvery blond hair asked. His blue eyes on Tenten as well.

Hisao sighed. "Well, I guess we have no choice." he said sadly. "Try not to hurt her too much.. yet." he smirked.

Tenten growled. Her hand balled up in a tight fist.

"ALRIGHT, YOUTHFUL TEAMMATES, LET US BEGIN!"

* * *

**A/N~ Booyaa! (: How'd you like that, ne? A little fluff.. but just a little bit.. and some action. Yeah! (: 'Cause I know you all like fights, and all that. I'm gonna do my best to not mess the next chapter up O_O no promises though.. I suck at writing action scenes. Anyways, please, please, review. Please.. seriously though, guys.. my self-esteem is in the toilet right now ): I need some joy in my life again.. so, pleasee, I beg of you.. review! :D Until next time,**

**~AliceOtaku**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N~ Here is chapter 4! wow.. time goes by fast when you have fun. Anyways, Enjoy!**

* * *

**Neji's POV.**

The sound of your weapons clashing with each other was still ringing on my ears.

"C'mon, guys. We have to keep moving!" Gai encouraged.

"Right!" Lee said, trying to get to Gai without stepping on someone.

"Tenten, are you alright?" I asked as I put my arm on her waist, and put her arm over my shoulders.

She nodded.

"Are you sure?" I asked, worried about the way she was leaning on me. It was like she was unable to walk on her own.

Then again, she was the one with the most cuts, and the one who had been poisoned.

"Yeah.. I'm fine. Don't worry about me." she mumbled.

"Tenten, you can barely walk." I pointed out.

She sighed. "At least the scrolls are still intact." she said with a small smile.

"Tenten, you are such a strong fighter! The power of youth lives brightly in your smile!" Lee said, his teeth shining like in those toothpaste commercials.

Gai gave her a thumbs up. "Great job, Tenten! You are surely my student! But, are you sure you're ok?" he raised a thick eyebrow.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Sensei. Thanks." she smiled weakly.

_~Flashback~_

"_We won't go down without a fight. Give us the scrolls, and we could work something out. We don't want to have to kill you." Hisao exclaimed. _

_Tenten scoffed. "Keep dreaming. Who said we wouldn't fight?" she raised an eyebrow._

"_You asked for it, babe. I don't want to hurt a girl, but I won't hesitate to if it'll keep me alive." _

_Her eyebrows furrowed. _

_I smirked. She was pissed, and when Tenten was pissed, things got ugly. _

"_Are you kids ready to die?" Hisao said, smirking wickedly._

_We tensed as he started performing the Monkey, Rat and Tiger hand seals. He took out about 15 shuriken, and 15 kunai knives. "PHOENIX EXPLOSION!" _

_The kunai and shuriken suddenly egnighted. Hisao threw them at Tenten and me. Gai and Lee were already busy with most of the others. They were fighting about 100 feet from us. They knew to keep their distance when Tenten and I fought together. Katsuo and Hisao stayed behind to fight us. _

_As we dodged the first few, I noticed that whenever the combusted kunai came in contact with anything, it would explode In flames. **(1)**_

_Tenten noticed that as well, and dodged smoothly. _

"_Now it's my turn!" Katsuo said, performing the Snake, Dragon, Horse and Boar hand seals. "EARTH SECRET TECHNEQUE- STONE RAZOR!" he cried, and put his hands on the ground, forcing chakra into the earth. He converted the soil and stone into razor-sharp razors of earth, shooting them out from all the sides of the ground. They were as powerful and fast as kunai. **(2)**_

_I also noticed that his limit was almost up. He had used up a lot of chakra. _

_Tenten and I jumped out in the air, and into the trees._

"_They have pretty good techniques, but not as good as ours," she smirked. "you ready?" _

_I smirked back. "I've been ready all my life. C'mon." I said, and she nodded. _

_Tenten took a small scroll, and opened it. She bit her finger, running the blood along the writing inside. There was a poof along with white smoke, and her Chain Wind Staff suddenly appeared. She got hold of it, and started spinning it._

_I knew she was going to go for the first attack. I remembered Shikamaru's 'theory'_

"_The first attack's always a fake. It's basic strategy, the second move wins the match."_

_She spun it a for about 5 more seconds, and then threw it towards Hisao and Katsuo. It caught them off guard. _

"_What the-?"_

"_Dammit!" _

_One of them hissed in pain._

_Tenten smirked, and took out two other scrolls. She nodded towards me. I checked the ground to see if the razors were still there. _

_They weren't. Katsuo had ran out of chakra, and the jutsu was broken._

_I nodded towards her, and we both jumped down again._

"_You kids are going to pay for that!" Hisao yelled, holding on to his arm. It was bleeding, and it wasn't moving. Not even twitching. He had lost complete use of his right arm._

_I smirked. "Great job, Tenten." _

_Hisao looked at her with hate. "You're going to be the first to die!" he exclaimed._

_Tenten smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Not today pal." _

_She placed both small scrolls on the ground. She performed the Tiger, Snake, Monkey, Hare, and Snake. The scrolls released smoke while also flying and spinning into the air in the shape of two dragons made of smoke. Tenten then jumped between the two scrolls, and started to rapidly summon and throw all sort of weapons.. at me. _

_I smirked as the two stood there, their mouths agape. _

"_W-what is she doing?" Katsuo exclaimed in a whisper._

"_Is she trying to kill her own teammate?" _

"_Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation!" I yelled, and started to spin to parry the attack._

"_What is going on?" Katsuo started to panic._

_The weapons did stop, but Tenten had used her String Reeling Technique, and jumped in the air backwards, driving the kunai and shuriken and other weapons towards Katsuo and Hisao._

"_I-it was a diversion! Their real target was always us! We fell for their trap, and lowered our guard!" Hisao said, amazed yet terrified._

_They got hit with incredible speed. **(3)** I stopped spinning once Tenten stopped throwing. She jumped down, and smiled. _

"_It worked!" she beamed._

"_Yes it did. It was very effective." I half smiled. _

"_IT'S NOT OVER YET! YOU MAY HAVE KILLED OUR LEADER, BUT WE'LL STILL FIGHT!" a guy with dark brown spiky hair yelled, and threw a poisoned kunai at Tenten. She didn't have time to dodge, and the kunai made a deep cut on her already wounded arm._

_She hissed in pain, and pulled the kunai out. She threw it aside, and faced the guy._

"_Big mistake." she said._

"_Severe Leaf Hurricane!" Lee cried, and hit the guy quickly. Tenten and I just stared. _

"_N-no.. the scrolls.. we must.." Tenten threw a few kunai at him. The final attack silenced him. Forever._

_~End of flashback~_

"Are you sure your alright, Tenten?" I asked, and looking at her. She was panting a little.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she said, examinating her arm. She caught me trying to look, and shifted her position so that her wound wasn't visible to me. She didn't want me to worry.

"Let me look at it," I said.

"That's not necessary. I'm fine." she mumbled.

"Tenten, I'll use the Byakugan to check if you don't let me see your arm." I said stubbornly.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "That's not necessary either."

"Then let me see it." I said. She sighed again, but moved her arm to give me a good view of her arm.

The poison had already coursed through her arm, I could see that. The skin around the edges of the cut was starting to get purple.

Byakugan! I looked for signs of the poison around her vital organs. Nothing. Good. She still needed to get treated immediately though.

"Tenten, your would isn't as severe, but we have to treat it as soon as possible," I said, and took out the X-antidote. Haruno had given Tenten 10 of the small bottles before we had departed.

"_Just in case anything happens, this antidote can take care of it. Anything."_ she had said.

"Drink it, Tenten." I said, holding out the small dark yellow glass bottle.

"Uhh.. do I have to?" she asked, eyeing it with a disgusted expression. Her eyebrows raised.

"Yes." I said sternly.

She sighed in defeat. "Fine.. give me that," she said, and playfully took the bottle from my hands.

She twisted the bottle cap, and opened the bottle. She drank a little bit, and then started coughing.

"It's gross!" she said, coughing some more. She was holding the bottle at an arm's length away.

"Tenten. Drink it. All." I said, my voice monotone.

"...No." she sounded like a child.

"Tenten, I don't want to have to use force.." I said, raising my eyebrows.

Her eyes widened for a second. She took a deep breath, and drank all of it.

"Good." I said. She coughed for about 10 seconds, before taking out her water bottle, and drinking almost all of the water.

"Are you alright, Tenten?" Lee approached us.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." she said, and with a hand seal, a _poof!, _followed by some smoke, all her weapons disappeared.

"Alright team. Great job! ONWARD WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!" Gai yelled, and Lee straightened up immediately.

"Let us continue!"

* * *

I kept looking at Tenten for any signs that she was in pain.

_**Yeah right. Keep lying to yourself then.**_

_...What are you trying to imply here?_

_**I'm not implying anything. You know what I'm talking about. Don't play dumb.**_

_Alright then. If you won't clarify, then I'll just ignore you._

_**Don't you dare ignore me!**_

…

_**...DON'T IGNORE ME!**_

_..You're being ignored._

_**O: how dare you... _**_

"Neji... you can stop staring at me now.." Tenten said, smiling at the trees in front of us.

I blushed, and looked away.

She smirked, and then took a deep breath, her face turning serious.

I threw a few other glances at her, hoping she wouldn't notice, but then decided it didn't matter if she did.

I looked at her, and really saw her. Not just the Tenten she wanted everyone to see. Not that strong tomboy who can't stand "weaklings", but someone sweet and charming. Someone who really cared for her teammates, and injured people. I saw everything I wanted to see in someone. And what I saw, was her.

* * *

**A/N~ ****FLUFF! -squeaks- ahem.. er.. please excuse my fan girl moment. Anyways :D hope you liked the action! O: I sure had some trouble writing it, but it's so much fun. ^-^ anyways. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I know this isn't long T_T but I was anxious to publish!**

**Anyways thanks for reading folks!**

**(1)~ Alright. I DON'T OWN THIS MOVE! I found it on some role playing website. This isn't mine. Someone else made it up (I think O_O) credit goes to Sance, whoever you are.**

**(2)~ Not my move either! this was found on the same website as the first one^, but the credit goes to Masakuni.**

**(3)~ Ok, so this move I made up. Well, I think I did.. I don't know if Masashi-Sempai already though of it, and wrote it, or if anyone else did, but well, hahaha. My imagination got the better of me, I think.**

**THANKS TO CHICHI11101 FOR BEING SO FREAKIN' AWESOME! O: girl, you are amazing. Love ya. **

**Also, thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far, added this to your favorites, and to your story alerts. The list goes on and on. I am seriously, touched O_O. I LOVE YOU ALL! THANK YOU! -starts freaking out-**

**Anyways, I hafta go and write the next chapter. Thanks for reading folks!**

**wow.. this is a really long A/N..ok. I'll end it here. Until next time,**

**~AliceOtaku**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N~ Ok. I'm sorry if I took too long.. I hardly get enough sleep, and.. well, now that it's the weekend, I'm planning on updating both my stories, so be ready for that.. if it doesn't happen though, I'm sorry. I'll try my hardest though!**

* * *

**Neji's POV.**

"Neji, how much further?" Gai asked me.

I activated my Byakugan. "We're not there yet, as far as I can see." I said slowly.

Tenten sighed quietly. I looked at her. She seemed deep in though again. She looked at the sky with a small smile.

She turned to look at me. She smiled brightly, and then raised an eyebrow. I shrugged.

After a few hours of the endless forest, the sky darkened. The tress made dark shadows on the ground. The wind was a bit chillier.

"Hey, Gai-Sensei?" Tenten suddenly asked.

"Yes, Tenten?" Gai replied, not looking back to look at her.

"It's getting dark, and I'm pretty tired.. Do you think we could take a break?" she asked him.

He thought about it for a second, then nodded. "Yes, of course! We do need our rest! We wouldn't want our youthful energy to suddenly vanish!" he grinned, and gave Tenten a thumbs up. She rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

We stopped to get a night's rest in a small clearing. The trees weren't as packed as they would be in a normal part of the forest.

Tenten and I were sitting next to each other, as were Gai and Lee.

She sat down, and sighed happily. I looked at her in amusement, and smirked. She turned to look at me with a questioning look.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing.." I turned my gaze towards the sky, and she did too.

Gai and Lee were talking muttering random shit about youth in the background. We weren't really listening, as we were absorbed in our own thoughts.

"..It's pretty out tonight, isn't it?" she asked suddenly. A smile on her face.

"It sure is." I said, noticing the starry night sky. It really was.. but it wasn't the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.. not like her..

Wait, what? Why am I thinking this? What's the matter with me?

_**Still oblivious as ever, huh?**_

_...What do you want?_

_**Again, nothing really.**_

_Then why are you even talking to me?_

_**Well, I'm not technically talking to you. This is all a product of your imagination.**_

_...really?_

_**Yup. But you can't get rid of me. No matter what you do!**_

_...Dammit._

_**So, you planin' on telling her anytime soon?**_

_...Tell who what?_

… _**-_-' C'mon, stop playin' dumb. You know **_**EXACTLY****_ what I'm talking about._**

_..No I don't._

_**Yes you do! Just think about it. You and Tenten have shared a lot of things, have you not?**_

_..Well, yeah._

_**You guys enjoy each others company, don't you?**_

_...well, it's a yes on my side, but I don't know about her.._

_**You're being too modest. She loves spending time with you. Anyway, you guys have fun together, right?**_

_Yeah..?_

_**And you guys get along GREAT, don't you?**_

_Yes, of course._

_**So then WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR!**_

…_? And you mean that as in..?_

_**As in MAKE YOUR DAMN MOVE!**_

_...What move?_

… _**-_-' maybe you really ARE dumb..**_

_You just insulted yourself, I hope you realize.._

_**.. shuddup.**_

"Hey, Neji, you okay?" Tenten asked me. I looked at her, and nodded once.

"Yeah.. I was just.. thinking.." I replied stupidly.

What did my inner mean, make my move? A move relating a jutsu, maybe?

_**Idiot..**_

_..Hn._

I looked at Gai and Lee. They were sleeping already. They had their green sleeping bags out. Both of them snoring peacefully.

Tenten seemed wide awake.

"Weren't you tired, Tenten?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm? Oh, I am." she said, looking at me seriously. She then smiled slightly. "What about you?" she tilted her head a little. Her voice was so soft.

I shrugged. "Not that tired, really." I answered truthfully. She smiled a little, and turned her head towards the starry night before us.

"Well, I'm going to catch up on my sleep." she muttered, taking out her sleeping bag, and spreading it on the ground beside me.

I smiled slightly as I saw her getting ready for some sleep. She looked.. different.. hmm.. NO. She looked like a woman. A real, full-grown woman, And I was a helpless man with a little too many hormones..

_**YES! YES! YOU ARE! :D NOW MAKE YOUR MOVE!**_

…_? What the hell are you talking about?_

_**Oh Kami.. please help him..**_

She turned to look at me with an amused expression. I realized I was still staring at her.

I blushed and looked away. She laughed slightly, and got up. She crouched down in front of me, and kissed my cheek.

My eyes widened, my heart skipped a beat, and my throat went dry. I tried to swallow, but it was nearly impossible. I could feel my face burning up. I was wondering how her lips weren't getting burned with such heat.

Her lips curved into a smile. She pulled away, and chocolate brown met lavender white.

"Goodnight, Neji." she said softly, and then sat down on her sleeping bag, opening it, and getting inside it.

"Goodnight, Tenten." I said, a small, but bright smile on my face.

She looked at me one last time, before sighing and closing her eyes for the remainder of the night.

I looked at her, and smiled again. Her face was so calm. Innocent, and it was like she was a child again. In fact, I felt the same way. Looking at her face, and thinking over the past 4 years, I remembered when Team Gai came to be. One would think back and say, 'those were the days.' but I frankly didn't feel so.

Yes, those days were in fact, amazing, excluding my behavior and attitude. Everything was much easier to deal with back then. No crazy emotions, no crazy missions.. sigh.. hmm.. maybe those days _were_ missed..

_**But You don't miss them that much.. just a little..?**_

_Yeah. Just a little. I'm glad I had an attitude change._

_**..You have no idea how grateful I am to Naruto and Hiashi for that.. **_

_It wasn't just them. It was my dad's scroll as well._

_**Well, yes. That too.**_

I looked at Tenten again. She wasn't snoring, but I could hear her quiet breathing.

I saw her hand hanging out of her red sleeping bag, and I couldn't stop myself.

I put my hand over hers carefully -as she is a light sleeper- , and squeezed it slightly. It was like a perfect fit. Her hand was just the right size, and fit with mine perfectly. It was like our hands were meant to be linked together.

_**Gettin' cheesy there, are we now?**_

_..shut up._

_**You know you do..**_

_To the point, if you don't mind.._

_**OH C'MON! STOP IGNORING YOUR FEELINGS, AND ADMIT IT!**_

_ADMIT WHAT?_

_**THAT YOU LOVE TENTEN!**_

…

…

_O.O..!_

_**-SIGH- Yeah. Act all surprised now..**_

_l-love Tenten? _

_**Yes, genius. You love her.**_

My eyes were wide. I looked at our linked hands. I remembered a thought I had just had..

_It was like a perfect fit. Her hand was just the right size, and fit with mine perfectly. It was like our hands were meant to be linked together_.

Love? That was the explanation behind all of my unexplainable emotions? Was it really? At first, the explanation I had deduced, was that my hormones were getting the better of me. But.. love?

_**YES! Now, ask her to be your girlfriend before someone else does.**_

I suddenly got angry. Tenten with someone else? There was _NO WAY_ in hell that was happening.

_Someone like who?_

_**Ohh, I don't know.. like, oh,well, maybe, someone like, KANKURO?**_

_...Kankuro? As in Sabaku No Kankuro? Kankuro, the puppeteer?_ _Kankuro the-_

_**YES, THAT KANKURO!**_

_..How do you know he likes her?_

_**I just do. I mean, if you pay enough attention, it's OBVIOUS.**_

I gritted my teeth.

_Is it, now.._

_**Yupp. So, you better MANNN up!**_

I sighed, and looked at her. Realizing that I loved her, well, it was something different. Loving someone isn't something to laugh at. It's something completely serious. It's not just a crush, oh no. It's far more complicated than that.

And what I felt for Tenten, was love.

I smiled to myself.

Now that I knew it, everything was so obvious. The smiles, the hugs, the blushing, the worrying..

But the question remained.

Why hadn't I noticed before?

_**Because you're too much a wuss to have admitted to something such as loving someone.**_

_..I am NOT a wuss.._

Just as I pondered over the whole mess that were my feelings, I heard a twig snapping in the distance.

Alarmed, I activated my Byakugan in a second.

At first, there was nothing, but endless trees.

But then suddenly, a new chakra network appeared. Out of thin air, it seemed.

I hissed inwardly as I saw that it had spotted us. I turned to look at Tenten. She had been the one who had the scrolls at the time being.

I noticed she had tucked them inside the sleeping bag, so that if someone tried to grab the rug sack, she would wake up immediately.

I smirked. Genius.

With my Byakugan still activated, I let go of Tenten's hand, and laid it carefully down, so she wouldn't wake up alarmed, and stood up.

The person walked closer and closer.

I got impatient. Why were they taking so long? I was sure they would see me awake now, and they knew I could see them, so why hesitate?

"Come out!" I hissed.

I heard a low chuckle. "So, the rumors were true. Neji Hyuga is incredibly impatient when it comes to battling." the voice said. It was a male, there was no doubt.

I tensed.

"Don't worry, Neji Hyuga. I won't hurt you, or your friends. I just want the scrolls your girlfriend carries with her." he said. He stepped into the clearing. Though there wasn't much light, I could see his features. He had messy brown hair, and a Hidden Stone village headband. He was smiling crookedly.

Another ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rocks? But why? What was with them and the scrolls?

I suddenly got really angry. I couldn't contain my anger. I wasn't about to let him get anywhere close to Tenten, or the scrolls.

I slipped into my battling pose. A frown on my face.

"Now, now.. there's no reason for you to get all defensive, now is there?" he asked, and looked at Tenten. "You're very lucky.. She's very good looking.. Ripe, just right for-"

That did it.

"SHUT. THE FUCK. UP. Don't EVER talk about her like that, you dirty bastard!" I yelled.

Probably not the smartest thing to do..

"N-Neji? What's the matter?" Tenten woke up, rubbing her eyes, looking around. Her eyes widened and she gasped when she saw the guy standing in front of me.

She stood up in one swift, fluid movement.

"What's going on?" she asked me in a hushed voice.

I sighed. "Well, we have a slight problem.."

* * *

**A/N~ Ooo! I can't wait to see what happens.. :D bahahaha. I'm so weird.**

**Anyways, I hope you liked the extra fluff I put there. Yes, Neji now realizes his feelings, but no, Tenten does not. (: hope that clears up a few doubts you might have. It was kinda rushed and cheesy, yeah, but that's what you get when you write while listening to Maroon 5. Oh yeah(: love that band..**

**anyways, I'd like to thank Chichi11101! Because I love you, and for all the inspiration you give me! O: love you tons girl! Like, tons! ^-^**

**and to all of my reviewers, because you are awesome people! Even those of you who don't review, but still take time to read through it, and all! You. Guys. Rock! LOVE YOU TO DEATH!**

**Mmk. I'm done! Drop in a review.. pretty please? :D Until next time,**

**~AliceOtaku**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N~ O: I'm so effin' late! I'm so sorry! Well, my -ahem, cough cough- excuses, are, numero one, I had horrible migranes.. (..still do..), and numero two, my mom grounded me ._. Ok. Those are my lame excuses for this very late update. Hope you guys understand :S Anyways, on with the chapter!**

* * *

**Neji's POV.**

"Kinda?" Tenten hissed.

"Uhh, yeah.." I said sighing.

"C'mon, babe." The guy took a step forward.

I stepped in front of Tenten protectively.

"Don't you dare touch her.. don't you even get close to her." I growled.

Tenten just stared at me. She looked confused.

_**What are you doing?**_

_..what?_

_**This is **_not**_ the time, and/or place!_**

_To tell her I love her? Why not?_

_**Because! If you do, she might not forgive you!**_

_And, why wouldn't she?_

_**I dunno. Women are difficult creatures to comprehend.**_

_...You got that right._

_**So, don't tell her!**_

_...What if it slips, and I tell her accidentally?_

_**...then your screwed.**_

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?" he challenged.

"Nothing special.. just kill you." I narrowed my eyes.

Tenten raised an eyebrow.

_**Calm down!**_

_I can't help it!_

_**Just think about it this way.. You're risking your pride right now.**_

_..sigh.. Guess you have a point._

"Bring it, kid." The guy in front of us smiled wickedly.

I growled in annoyance.

"Prepare to die, bastard." I hissed.

I started to slip into my battle stance, and was _just _to activate my Byakugan, when I felt a hand on my arm.

Tenten's hand.

I didn't dare look at her, seeing as the enemy surely would take advantage of the situation.

I limited myself to groan, instead.

"..Neji, calm down." she whispered urgently.

She wanted me to calm down, when this guys had given her suggestive looks, and.. I wont even say it.. It would just make me angry to think about.

But she wanted me to calm down, so I should at least try, right?

Easier said than done..

"Babe, I've got no intention on hurting you. Just want the scrolls you carry around. Hand 'em over, and I'll be on my way. No need for violence, sweetheart." he smirked at Tenten.

She scoffed. "As if, buddy. You think we would just give you the scrolls? Get you brain checked." It was her turn to smirk.

I smirked as well.

He growled. "Listen, kid. I don't feel like fighting with a girl and a," he glanced at me. "A feminine guy." he referred to my hair.

Tenten had a 'Oh no, you didn't' kind of look.

"...Excuse me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Ya heard me, kid. I mean, look at your hair! Ya need a good trim." he mocked.

I felt my control slipping by. slowly.. then, it was suddenly gone.

Puff.

No more self control.

I took a step forward, with murderous intentions.

Tenten must've noticed.

No, scratch that.

She _did _notice.

So, that's why she was one step ahead of me.

One second later, and the guy was already fatally wounded. A Katana -the very same one I had given her for her birthday- was sticking out from his abdomen.

Now, the would wouldn't of been as severe, but it just so happened that Tenten had always dipped her Katana in poison.

Lethal poison.

So lethal in fact, that it only took 7 seconds to operate.

The poison would start numbing the enemy. At an alarming rate, I must add. It numbs the vital organs, starting with the heart, causing it to slow down.

It then proceeds to,

numb the brain.

Yes, the brain.

It started by killing braincells, and horrible headaches would follow after.

The enemy would be in too much pain, due to the crazy migraine, to pay attention to the attacker.

Tenten finished it off quickly. Guess she was too nice to let him suffer to that extent.

She pulled her Katana from his abdomen, and sliced off his head, splashing blood everywhere.

"Neji.." She started to say, and with a hand sign, and a puff, the silver Katana was gone.

"Hn?" I muttered.

"You need to watch over your anger.." she said quietly, putting her scroll back in her rug sack.

..Was she implying that I have Anger Management Issues?

_**Pretty much.**_

_..not exactly what I hoped to hear.._

"There is lot of blood! What in the world happened?" Lee cried, upon waking up.

Tenten and I sighed simultaneously.

She decided to speak. "We.. had a visitor, Lee. Nothing to worry about, though. He is dead now." She motioned to the headless corpse at her feet.

Lee looked down, and grimaced.

"Where is his head?" he asked quietly.

"Right here."

We turned around to track the speaker.

Gai had the head between his feet.

"Gai-Sensei!" Lee cried.

"Lee!"

They embraced each other in their so-called 'Manly hug of youth'.

Bullshit.

They're gay, and we're all aware of that.

Ahem... I never said that..

"..not exactly the moment for this.." Tenten mumbled

"She is right. We should move. We don't have time to lose." I said sternly.

Gai nodded. "Alright, Team Gai! Let's move!"

We nodded.

"Gai-Sensei! We shall try to move twice as fast! That way, we will get there ahead of schedule!"

"What?" Tenten groaned. I remained quiet.

"Great thinking, Lee! But perhaps, we shall try to go, quadruple time!"

Tenten gaped at them with disbelieving eyes. I grimaced.

"That's not even physically possible!" I said through my clenched teeth.

"would you two quit getting ahead of yourselves?" Tenten said, sighing.

"Uhh, Gai-sensei.. perhaps that is pushing it.. we should only try to move twice as fast. Maybe that would be enough." Lee considered.

"..I think even that's pushing it, Lee." Tenten groaned again.

_**

* * *

**_

"Are we getting closer, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked, getting impatient.

And he wasn't the only one.

Tenten looked very impatient as well.

"..Neji?" Gai asked, glancing back at me.

I nodded once.

"Byakugan!"

My vision was sharper, more powerful, and more fierce.

"I.. yes. I see a little town up ahead. Not too far away." I said slowly.

Tenten gasped happily. "Yes! Finally!" She said with a bright smile.

"Alright, Team Gai!" Gai said, with a toothy grin. "I say we take a little rest! Lady Tsunade didn't say anything about a certain time in which we have to deliver the scrolls!" He exclaimed

"...Right. So. I second that vote." Tenten grinned.

"Yosh! A little rest never hurt anyone! On to the town, with the power of youth!" Lee yelled.

"Hn."

They all knew that was my 'Alright.'

Tenten stretched her arms out infront of herself. "Oh God. I'm tired. My back is so sore.." She mumbled to no one in special.

Something moved in the trees behind us.

"Hn.." I turned my head around, frowning.

"..Neji? Something the matter?" Tenten wondered.

I activated my Byakugan. I felt the presence of a chakra network.. I could almost see it, but something blocked my view.

"Dammit.." I hissed. "Stop!" I followed my own order, and stopped at the nearest tree branch.

"What's up, Neji?" Tenten said, on a branch far higher up than mine.

"I.. I sensed someone." I said, scanning the trees around us, but failing to find something concrete. I could still feel the presence though.

Lee and Gai tensed. Tenten looked around.

"..Someone? How strong?" Gai asked from a few branches bellow us.

"I.. I'm not sure." I muttered annoyed. Whoever it was, was covering up their chakra, and doing a bang up job, at that.

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked, looking down at me.

"It must be a jutsu.. I.. I'm sure that's why I can't see him."

Then, it hit me.

No, it wasn't a jutsu. It was..

My blind spot.

I turned my head around a few times, trying to find him.

It was futile, he was a ninja, I was sure.

"Dammit!" I hissed.

He knew I was a Hyuga.. But then again, anyone able to see my eyes would be able to tell.

But that wasn't why I was so worried.

He knew the secret of the Hyuga Clan.

The Byakugan's blind spot.

It wasn't a chakra network I recognized.. so, then who could it be?

"Neji!" Tenten screamed. I looked up at her. Her eyes were horror-struck, and wide.

"What's the m-" the pain at the nape of my neck cut off my sentence.

I felt my own blood tickling down my robes.

Suddenly, my body felt numb, and my Byakugan deactivated on it's own accord. I fought to keep my eyes open. My legs gave in, and I was falling

It felt as though I was flying.

Flying, like a free bird.

And then, something got in my way.

The ground.

Suddenly, my vision was clouded with black dots. Annoyed, I closed my eyes.

It felt good to rest, but I longed to fly freely again.

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**A/N~ Oh yeah. (: Hope you enjoyed that ^-^ I'll try to update sometime soon again.. maybe tonight! O:**

**hahahaha. Anyways, i'd like to thank Midnight Insomniac, because she's such a great friend. You guys totally have to check out her stories, _The Unwritten Rules of Espionage_, and _The Wind Rattles On._**

**Both of those are NejiTen stories, so you'll enjoy them :D They're really good! O:**

**Anyways.. I'm done. :D Hope you enjoyed, my darlings! Love you dearly, and a few reviews would be appreciated (: Until next time,**

**~AliceOtaku.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N~ Hey there! Alright, so I'll update again :D Hope that makes you guys happy! I know it makes _me_ happy.. Anyways.. I'm done O_O Enjoy, darlings!**

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**Neji's POV.**

Flying, soaring through the air. I was so light, I could feel the slight breeze tugging at me.

My wings, white and large, tried to maneuver their way to safety.

Suddenly, my body felt very heavy, and the calm wind, turned into a storm.

A storm I couldn't get out of. The crazy gusts carried me to a precipice, surrounding by a lot more cliffs. My wings were too sore from fighting with the wind.

I could feel myself slipping closer, and closer to the edge. My feathered body was too sore, and numb to feel anything, but pain.

"Neji.. you're going to be okay.." I head a sweet, soothing voice from afar. It broke at the last word.

Tenten's voice.

The wind was fiercer. I couldn't fight against it.

It was like fate.

Yes, it's true. You can change your fate, but with actions, come consequences. Those consequences are inevitable.

Except.. what had been my action?

"Neji.." Tenten's soft, soothing voice said again.

I felt myself getting closer, and closer to the edge of the cliff.

I couldn't see a thing. My vision was clouded with, what seemed to be, a thick, glass-like veil.

No.. it was more like a wall.

A wall I couldn't see through.

It was annoying. I tried to activate my Byakugan, but it didn't work.

I didn't have enough energy.. not enough chakra.

I head a sigh, closer to my ears.

The edge of the cliff was dangerously closer.

So close in fact, that I could see all the way down.

But, there wasn't a bottom. It looked dark, and cold.

My wings flapped in protest to the strong gusts.

But, I lost my balance, and started falling.

I was free again.

My first reaction was, to flap my wings. To use them to fly up to the sky, and feel the freedom sweep through me, once again.

But they were paralyzed. I couldn't move them.

_What is going on? _I wondered.

"Neji.." Tenten whispered.

I wanted to reply to her sweet, soothing voice, but I couldn't find my own. I couldn't even find my mouth.

Suddenly, I was falling faster, and faster.

Panic soared through me, as the darkness of the bottom of the cliff moved closer, and closer. I closed my eyes, trying not to think of the impact my skull would go through. (I was falling head-fist.) It was impossible. I opened my eyes, only to hope the opposite.

The darkness came unbelievably closer.

I grimaced, and waited for the harsh impact.

"I love you." was the last thing I heard, before the dark absorbed me.

My eyes flew open, and I gasped, jumping up into a sitting position. Someone close to my head gasped as well.

"N-Neji?" I looked over -too stunned to notice where I was at the moment- to see Tenten sitting on a chair closer to the bed I was lying in.

"Tenten?" My voice was husky, and my vision was still somewhat clouded.

"Neji!" she threw her arms around my shoulders.

I stiffened immediately. She noticed, and let go.

"..Sorry." she blushed.

"Hn." I muttered. I then felt a sharp pang of pain at the nape of my neck.

No.. more like I _noticed_ it.

"..What happened, and where are we, Tenten?" I asked quietly after a minute.

Tenten's face darkened up. "It was a one-man ambush. He threw a poisoned kunai at your neck." she said quietly.

"Poisoned? But.. it took effect so quickly.. it must've been a very powerful kind of poison.."

"Yes. I took a closer look at it, and with the training I received from Lady Tsunade, was able to find that the poison used on the kunai was a stronger, more fierce, and more lethal version of my own, in which I dip my Katana in." she said with a sigh. Then, she frowned. "Neji.. I'm sorry."

She was sorry? But why?

_**She's always looking out for your blind spot..**_

_Yes, but she's not committed to. She only does that because wants to._

_**That's true, but she feels guilty nonetheless.**_

Sigh..

"It's alright, Tenten. It is not your duty to look out for me."

She shook her head, and buried her face in her hands. "No.. I was careless.. It's my fault you got hit." she said quietly. Her voice broke at the last 3 words.

"No, it's not. If it's anyone's fault, than it's mine. You did nothing wrong." I said sternly.

"But, I distracted you! I made you look up when I screamed!" she said, looking at me, with bloodshot chocolate eyes.

"Tenten, this isn't your fault. Stop it." I said slowly.

She sighed. I knew she was done listening to me.

"So, where are we? You never answered my second question."

"We're in that little town you mentioned before. It's more like a very small village, rather than town." she muttered, looking at the ground. "At the hospital, to be exact."

"How long have I been unconscious?" I hadn't thought about that.

"About a day and a half."

I nodded. "What happened after I got hit? Tell me everything."

She sighed, but nodded nonetheless. "You blacked out, and fell head-first to the ground. You got a concussion. The guy tried to go for the kill, but," she looked up. "I stopped him." She said, sounding proud.

"You don't say." I smirked. She smiled playfully.

"Yup! Then, after that, Gai and Lee took care of him. I was the one who brought you all the way over here." It was her turn to smirk.

"...Why didn't you let Gai or Lee do so?" I asked, after a minute, and after I felt sure that the heat in my cheeks was all, but gone.

"Because, if I hadn't done anything, I would've died of guilt." she said sheepishly.

I sighed.

Tenten will be Tenten.

"Besides, it's _Gai_ and _Lee._ You would've killed me if you found out it was one of them that _carried_ you." she raised an eyebrow.

_**She has a point.**_

_...Yes, she does._

I sighed. "Well, you're right." I turned to look at her. "Thank you." I smirked.

She blushed, and looked down to her hands.

Pretty color..

"Don't mention it. I would do it any day. Specially for you." she said, and bit her slip, smiling.

I blushed a little bit this time. She smirked.

I cleared my throat, and looked around the room. I noticed some _things_ were missing. I couldn't quite put my finger on it though.

I then remembered, that the names of those _things_, were Gai ad Lee.

"Speaking of which, where are those two?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She seemed to know what I was talking about. She sighed. "Training. That's why I'm here."

"I see."

She nodded once.

A nice, but long silence followed after.

I wanted to hear her voice.. but I didn't want to speak. Not yet, anyway.

"So.." she spoke up. I was glad for that.

"Yes?"

She cleared her throat. "How are you feeling?" She bit her lip, and lifted her head to the side, looking very cute, in the process.

I shrugged. "Not too terrible. Just sore." I said, looking at her.

She raised an eyebrow, as if she didn't believe me.

"..Are you sure you're not in any pain? She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"...Do I really look that bad?" I asked, smirking, and raised an eyebrow.

She smiled, and laughed. "No.. but I know you, Neji." she paused. Her face was serious., but her eyes and voice were soft. "You downplay this kind of stuff. You're independent, and don't like it when people pity you." she said quietly.

"..Yes, you are right," I started to say slowly. "But I'm fine. I told you. I'm only a bit sore."

"A bit?" she raised both her eyebrows.

"Yes, only a bit. I'm not a wuss, you know." I muttered.

She chuckled. "No, of course not. I never said that. I'm just saying you downplay your emotions most of the time."

I grimaced. She had no idea how true that was..

_**NOW IS THE TIME!**_

_...To tell her I-_

_**Yes!**_

_...What about my pride?_

_**To hell with pride!**_

_But you said-_

_**Forget what I said. You'll never get a chance like this! Gai and Lee are always around, and they never leave you two alone!**_

_...They go train all the time, usually by themselves._

_**..Not the point. Just do it. You'll feel relieved after!**_

_..._

..But stupid Inner's got a point.. If I don't get this out soon, my mind and chest will blow off..

I sighed. She looked at me, then looked down.

..Might as well get it over with.

"Tenten.." I whispered.

"Neji.." she started to say at the same time, looking at her hands. A blush arose on her cheeks.

"..Yes?" I asked. She looked up.

"You were going to say something.. I'm sorry. Continue, please." she said politely.

"No. I insist on you saying whatever you have to say first." I said stubbornly.

She looked at me in the eyes, sighed, and nodded. "Alright.. I just wanted to let you know that I-"

"YOSH! I see that our youthful teammate Neji, is awake!" Lee burst in through the window, thus breaking it.

Tenten jumped out of her seat, startled. I glared at Lee.

"Lee! Look what you've done! This isn't our place to destroy!" Tenten reminded him with a scowl.

"I am sorry! I will run 600 laps around the village f-"

Tenten threw a chair at him. He was almost too late in his dodging. "No way in hell you're doing that. Instead you're going to repair the broken window!" she paused to catch her breath. "Got it?"

Lee nodded. His eyes looked bigger than usual.

"Lee!" Gai appeared out of nowhere.

"Gai-Sensei!" Lee exclaimed.

Tenten's eyebrow was twitching with anger.

She threw another chair was was close to the bed as well, but this time, it was aimed at Gai.

He dodged neatly. "What is it, Tenten? Something the matter?" he grinned at her, which only enraged her more.

"..Just.. ugh!" she buried her face in her hands. "..Nevermind.." she muttered miserably.

Tenten throwing chairs? Now, that was out of character for her. She's always so calm and collected.

I then remembered our conversation before Green Thing #1, and Green Thing #2 butted in.

I felt my annoyance reach a point I didn't even know existed.

I growled unconsciously. Everyone's attention was on me. "I just woke up.. not even 20 minutes ago, and you barge in here, breaking a window in the process, and yelling?" my voice was colder than usual.

"We are sorry, Neji! But we were worried about you!" Lee said

"Leave." I said coldly. Gai sighed.

"Alright. If that's what you want, we shall leave." he turned to look at his '#1 star pupil'. "Lee." he said with his shiny smile.

"Gai-sensei! We shall go train!" Lee said excitedly.

Tenten narrowed her eyes. "No. Broken window. Go find the supplies you need to fix it." she said.

"..Right! Onward with the power of youth!" Gai shouted, making me grimace.

"Leave. Now." I muttered annoyed.

"Yosh! Goodbye, youthful Neji! And goodbye to you too, beautiful youthful lotus blossom!" Lee said, and with that, he and Gai were out the window again.

Tenten sighed. "Those two.." She mumbled, and then shook her head. "No matter.. Well," she turned around to look at me. "I better go check on them.. don't want them breaking other windows." she sighed again.

"...You don't _have_ to go.." I mumbled incoherently.

"What?" she raised an eyebrow, and for a second, I thought she had heard me.

"Huh?" I said, with an innocent expression.

"Nothing.." she half smiled, and started to walk away.

I reached for her wrist, before she could get away.

"Huh?"

"..Thank you, Tenten." I whispered huskily.

She turned to look at me, and took a few steps closer to the bed. She bit her lip, and then smiled.

I smiled a small smile.

She seemed to think about something for a second, then, smiled again, and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. My eyes widened.

"I said it once, and I'll say it again." she said, her voice softened, and her hold on me tightened. "Don't mention it. I would do it any day. Specially for you."

My arms, unconsciously, snaked their way to her hips, to hold her close.

"But.. why?" I felt obliged to ask.

She swallowed. Her hold on my shoulders loosened. I didn't let her go.

"..Because.. because you're my friend." she said quietly.

I felt a pang of disappointment.

Friend? I'm only a friend to her?

_**Don't jump to conclusions too fast. She only said that, because that's all you've let yourselves be.**_

_..What do you mean?_

_**Look at your behavior. Is it of someone who is deeply in love? No. It's not. It is of friendship, and partnership. Yes, it's possible that she may love you, but your actions chase her to believe that you only see her as a friend, and comrade. **_

_..So, what should I do?_

_**...Make your attraction to her obvious. She'll know what you intentions are, and you two will end up happily ever after. **_

_...what if she doesn't love me? What if I make myself look like an idiot?_

_**Love is a human emotion. It is not a sin to love, but the opposite. It is a blessing. If she doesn't understand this, then she is the idiot here.**_

_...Right._

Well, all I can do now, is hope for the best.

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**A/N~ horrible ending, I know.. but oh well. Be happy I updated twice in a row! O: That's like, a freakin' record for me.**

**Anyways, I'm really happy I got this out. :D I really am. Relieves some of my stress D: Stress is no good . anyways. Hope you enjoyed! **

**Thanks to Midnight Insomniac, for all the support! Love you, girl! :D**

**And thanks to everyone who reviews, and that good stuff. I really DO APPRECIATE IT!**

**Anyways.. after this super gift from me, you guys wont get another update until I get a fair amount of reviews.. besides, I've got to update my other stories. Hahah.**

**Mmk. Hope you liked it! R&R! Until next time, my darlings, with much love,**

**~AliceOtaku**


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